The effects of ketone drinks on endogenous insulin secretion are unclear. Whilst the small increase in plasma insulin after KE and KS drinks may have been due to the small quantity of dextrose in the diluent, it has been proposed that ketones could potentiate or even stimulate insulin secretion. Isolated pancreatic islets secreted insulin when stimulated by ketones at glucose concentrations of >5 mM (Biden and Taylor, 1983), and small amounts of insulin are secreted in vivo following exposure to exogenous ketones in animals (Madison et al., 1964; Miles et al., 1981). In response to an intra-venous 10 mM glucose clamp, ketone ester drinks increased glucose uptake and plasma insulin (Holdsworth et al., 2017). The increases in insulin with ketone drinks taken whilst fasted were small compared to the increases seen when the ketone ester drink was consumed with a meal and with consumption of a dextrose drink. Furthermore, the lack of difference in peak plasma insulin between the two latter conditions indicates that nutritional ketosis did not inhibit or increase normal carbohydrate induced insulin production.

Been using yur stuff for the last week and tyere is absolutely no change in the amount of ketones based on the ketone strips i use to monitor ketone levels. I use another product as well and switched back and have sustained higher levels of ketones most of the day. Is there a reason that your product doesnot produce the results based on the strip test? I am a larger guy, 260 possibly need more? I have 2 tubs to go through and am not overly optimistic about whats going on.
Though research involving ketone supplements is still in the early stages, it seems promising. One study published in February 2018 in Obesity suggests exogenous ketone esters lower hunger hormones and act as appetite suppressors. That can lead to weight loss because “if we don’t feel hungry, gosh, we probably aren’t going to eat like we were,” Griffin says.

Sure Leslie, the goal is to induce the burning of stored fat in your body. This process usually take a few days of strictly limiting carbohydrate intake. Supplementing with exogenous ketones is a way to shortcut the wait time, essentially “tricking” your body into ketosis. I imagine supplementing with too many could have negative effects on fat loss, but the research is not out supporting that claim yet.

I don’t recommend that you go straight for a 1-2 day fast, but begin by restricting yourself to certain eating windows. Typically people restrict themselves to the hours of 5pm – 11pm. People often refer to their fasting windows by numbers: 19/5 or 21/3, for example, means 19 hours of fasting and 5 hours eating or 21 hours fasting and 3 hours eating, respectively.
Whereas ketone esters are 100% D- form, most ketone salts are a 50/50 mix of left and right-handed beta hydroxybutyrate, which is known as a racemic mixture. These beta hydroxybutyrate molecules are linked to a mineral, such sodium (Na), calcium (Ca), potassium (K), or magnesium (Mg). This kind of ketone supplement gets broken down to left and right-handed version of beta hydroxybutyrate along with the mineral.

Emerging evidence supports the therapeutic potential of the ketogenic diet (KD) for a variety of disease states, leading investigators to research methods of harnessing the benefits of nutritional ketosis without the dietary restrictions. The KD has been used as an effective non-pharmacological therapy for pediatric intractable seizures since the 1920s [1–3]. In addition to epilepsy, the ketogenic diet has elicited significant therapeutic effects for weight loss and type-2 diabetes (T2D) [4]. Several studies have shown significant weight loss on a high fat, low carbohydrate diet without significant elevations of serum cholesterol [5–12]. Another study demonstrated the safety and benefits of long-term application of the KD in T2D patients. Patients exhibited significant weight loss, reduction of blood glucose, and improvement of lipid markers after eating a well-formulated KD for 56 weeks [13]. Recently, researchers have begun to investigate the use of the KD as a treatment for acne, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), cancer, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), traumatic brain injury (TBI) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) with promising preliminary results [14–26].

Usually, you’ll find exogenous ketones in the form of powdered ketone salts. Less common are ketone esters, which are the purest form of ketones. Griffin says they work quickly (in 10 to 15 minutes, as opposed to an hour for the salts) and effectively, but they’re more expensive, have a more-revolting taste, and are harder to find (HVMN is one U.S. company that sells them). People also use medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil — or partially manmade fats — to put the body into a state of ketosis.
I heard a rep from Perfect Keto on a podcast and your Exogenous Ketones. I ordered and received it the other day. I see from this article that I should not do a full scoop at once, but break it up in a day. Good to know. I had about a half scoop before I worked out this morning and could tell I had more energy. Loved that. Just curious….any ideas how long it will take me to get back into ketosis and fat burning?? (I know it depends on what I eat, but a general idea that I promise not to hold you too! (I’m actually missing having ‘keto breath!)
LDL is the lipoprotein particle that is most often associated with atherosclerosis. LDL particles exist in different sizes: large molecules (Pattern A) or small molecules (Pattern B). Recent studies have investigated the importance of LDL-particle type and size rather than total concentration as being the source for cardiovascular risk [56]. Patients whose LDL particles are predominantly small and dense (Pattern B) have a greater risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). It is thought that small, dense LDL particles are more able to penetrate the endothelium and cause in damage and inflammation [82–85]. Volek et al. reported that the KD increased the pattern and volume of LDL particles, which is considered to reduce cardiovascular risk [73]. Though we did not show a significant effect on LDL levels for ketone supplements, future chronic feeding studies will investigate the effects of ketone supplementation on lipidomic profile and LDL particle type and size.

I have, though, recently been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. After reading through your blog, I noticed there was a little about Ketogenetic diet and cancer. I purchased the MCT oil powder in hopes that will help me get into ketosis for the purpose of “starving” the cancer cells. Other then focus, I didn’t see any particular format for something like this. Here are my questions: How much of the powder should I take? And do you think the diet plus the MCT oil is a good idea for 1) aiding chemotherapy and 2) helping shrink the number of cancer cells?

[1] Shannon L. Kesl, corresponding author Angela M. Poff, Nathan P. Ward, Tina N. Fiorelli, Csilla Ari, Ashley J. Van Putten, Jacob W. Sherwood, Patrick Arnold, and Dominic P. D’Agostino (2016). Effects of exogenous ketone supplementation on blood ketone, glucose, triglyceride, and lipoprotein levels in Sprague–Dawley rats. Nutrition & Metabolism, 13(9)
MCT oil has recently been used to induce nutritional ketosis although it produces dose-dependent gastrointestinal (GI) side effects in humans that limit the potential for its use to significantly elevate ketones (>0.5 mM). Despite these limitations, Azzam and colleagues published a case report in which a 43-year-old-man had a significant decrease in seizure frequency after supplementing his diet with 4 tablespoons of MCT oil twice daily [96]. An attempt to increase his dosage to 5 tablespoons twice daily was halted by severe GI intolerance. Henderson et al. observed that 20 % of patients reported GI side effects with a 20 g dose of ketogenic agent AC-1202 in a double blind trial in mild to moderate Alzheimer’s patients [24]. We visually observed similar gastrointestinal side effects (loose stools) in the rats treated with MCT oil in our study. Rats were closely monitored to avoid dehydration, and gastric motility returned to normal between 12–24 h. Interestingly, the BMS + MCT supplement elevated βHB similarly to MCT oil alone, without causing the adverse gastrointestinal effects seen in MCT-supplemented rats. However, this could be due to the fact in a 10 g/kg dose of BMS + MCT, only 5 g/kg is MCT alone, which is less than the 10 g/kg dose that elicits the GI side effects. This suggests that this novel combination may provide a more useful therapeutic option than MCT oil alone, which is limited in its ability to elevate ketones in humans.
Our bodies are produce three types of ketone bodies for fuel: beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), acetoacetate (AcAc), and acetone. Each is used by the body differently. Acetone is the least abundant, produced in much smaller amounts, and is usually exhaled through the lungs rather than being used as fuel.3 Acetoacetate is part of the metabolic pathway whereby humans make and use ketones, but it tends to be found in the blood at lower levels than BHB.
Some general side effects of your body producing beta hydroxybutyrate is essentially the lull in time it takes to switch from carbohydrate metabolism to fat metabolism, which can take 3-4 days. This can lead to mood swings, fatigue, and general low energy. If you want to skip that step, we recommend taking exogenous BHBs to switch your body over effortlessly.

A common question is why BHB is the go-to ketone body for exogenous ketone supplements. The likely reason is a combination of its efficient conversion into energy and its ease of formulation. In other words, that it is easier to formulate BHB into a nutritional supplement. And the body efficiently converts BHB to acetoacetic acid, which effectively raises blood ketone levels.

The Zenwise Keto Life BHB Salt uses a custom calcium, magnesium and sodium ketone complex to help access ketones for fuel without the low carb diet or fasting. This product is another all-natural option that goes as far as using turmeric for its added coloring. It is a proven product with hundreds of happy customers. They seem to have a strong grasp on the lemonade side of the exogenous market with their Raspberry Lemonade and Wild Limeade flavor choices.
I had heard horror stories about how bad ketone esters tasted (like “rocket fuel”!) so was prepared for the worst. I followed their instructions and drank the contents of the bottle in one gulp, then chased it with a sip of sparkling mineral water. While not the most pleasant aftertaste, the flavor wasn’t any worse than after a shot of well tequila. Within 15 minutes I was already well into therapeutic ketosis, and after 30 minutes my ketone meter displayed a “HI” error message (meaning my level was greater than 8.0 mmol/L)!
Effects of ketone supplementation on blood glucose. a, b Blood glucose levels at times 0, 0.5, 1, 4, 8, and 12 h (for 10 dose) post intragastric gavage for ketone supplements tested. a Ketone supplements BMS + MCT and MCT significantly reduced blood glucose levels compared to controls for the duration of the 4-week study. BMS significantly lowered blood glucose only at 8 h/week 1 and 12 h/week 3 (b) KE, maintained at 5 g/kg, significantly reduced blood glucose compared to controls from week 1–4. BD did not significantly affect blood glucose levels at any time point during the 4-week study. Two-Way ANOVA with Tukey’s post hoc test, results considered significant if p

Anti-carcinogenic properties: Data seems to suggest that exogenous ketones are an effective anti-carcinogen. The reason behind this is that cancer cells are unable to use ketone bodies effectively, unlike most healthy tissues in the body. In fact, dietary ketone supplementation has been shown to increase survival rates of mice with systematic cancer by as much as 70%.17

I don’t think we even need a drumroll here… Based on my background research into ketone-supplement companies, the survey of Diet Doctor users and the experiment itself, we cannot recommend taking these supplements. I can personally think of many more beneficial ways to invest money in my health, such as buying grass-fed meat and organic vegetables, or even buying a bicycle and riding it outside in the sunshine.
Two ground-breaking studies have recently been published on the effects of intermittent fasting on males. One group of researchers studied the effects that 16 hours of intermittent fasting had on males that lift weights. They found that muscle mass stayed the same, fat mass decreased significantly, and the males who fasted for 16 hours a day burned more fat for fuel compared to the control group that only fasted for 12 hours.
Response inhibition is the ability to suppress inappropriate responses that interfere with goal-directed actions. Two cards are shown, one above the other, each containing the name of a color in a certain color. The goal is to rapidly indicate if the meaning of the color on top (i.e. “yellow”) matches the color of the color on the bottom (i.e., card says “red” but is colored yellow).
I came across a new company called KetoneAid that has begun producing small batches of ketone monoesters (KMEs). The main molecule in their product (D-β-hydroxybutyrate / D 1,3-butanediol) is based on a five-year, $10M study commissioned by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), looking to create the most powerful source of energy for special operations soldiers such as Navy SEALs, when undertaking very physically and cognitively challenging missions. In fact, the main researcher of the DARPA study is Dr. Richard Veech, the same person that authored the longevity study I just mentioned. Very cool.
It's important to listen to your body when going through the ketogenic process. This means that you should only eat when you're hungry and not every single time you get a craving. It's our obsession with food that causes us to stuff ourselves whenever we feel like it, and you should know by now that it's not healthy to do that. When you make it a point to eat only when you're hungry, you're diminishing any food intake that your body doesn't really need.

There is so much talk about the benefits of a ketogenic diet and its ability to improve fat burning, brain health, energy and anti-aging. The main units of energy on a ketogenic diet are ketone bodies, of which beta hydroxybutyrate (BHB) is the main player! This article will go over the health benefits of BHB and exogenous ketones. Additionally, this article will cover strategies on using exogenous ketones in your daily life.

The second ketone ester compound was developed at the University of South Florida. This is a diester of AcAc and BDO. In rodents, this ketone ester raises blood D-BHB to 1-4 mM and blood AcAc to up to 5 mM.19 There is one published study of this ketone ester in humans; results showed a 2% decrease in 31 km cycling time trial performance.16 This may be due to the high rate of side effects of this ester studied. Other factors may have been low levels of BHB (<2 mM), the short, high-intensity time trial used, or the use of AcAc vs. BHB.
Core BHB™ provides pure goBHB™ in an all-natural formula with no artificial sweeteners, making ideal for those on the keto diet, athletes, and people who are health-conscious. Even if you’re on a high-carb diet, Core BHB™ will rapidly elevate blood ketone levels and help your body enter a state of ketosis (often with 30 minutes of consumption). In turn, you will experience increases in energy, fat loss, endurance, and mental acuity. With regular use of Core BHB™, you can also speed up the transition from a higher-carb diet to the ketogenic diet and reduce symptoms of the “keto flu”.
Second, take a look back at table 2. Kegenix Prime scored as the “winning brand” for 4 out of the 7 markers tested: mental performance, satiety, mental clarity and energy. Compared to the other supplements, it also scored highest for physical performance, although none of the supplements were listed as a “winner” since the placebo outperformed them all for that marker.
Im very excited about this product! I received it about a week ago and it helped me break my month+ plateau! I've been on a keto diet since mid-April and had lost 10 lbs but stalled out. Ill be honest, the after taste is not pleasant but I'll take it since it's working. I've lost 12.5 lbs and going strong. Feeling better than ever. Would recommend and buy again!
And now, you can take ketone supplements (salts and esters), known as exogenous ketones, without actually restricting anything. According to those promoting this nasty-tasting supplement, that means you can have a brain and body fuelled by ketones, along with all of the supposed health benefits that come with running on fat. Well, don't fall for it.

Ketōnd is an intelligently designed formula containing an industry leading 13,900mg blend of high-powered goBHB™ all packed into a 100% transparent, proprietary blend free formula. Ketōnd is widely known as the most ‘potent’ exogenous ketone supplement available that has been formulated for anyone looking to manage their weight, maximize cognition, or simply feel more energetic in a low carbohydrate environment.

You must realise that our bodies are lazy and switching to a new energy source means hard work, that means that your body will not do this easily and you basically have to force it. One way to speed up this process is to put your body into fight or flight mode. My preferred controlled exercise to do this is to have a high intensity workout followed immediately by a cold shower. I am describing it in the article to go slowly, but in this case it will actually be beneficial if you can force your self to go straight into a cold shower and try to stay there at least 2 minutes. One of the benefits of this that your body will produce the hormone noradrenaline. Obviously this is something for people in perfect health. Please advice your doctor before you want to take cold showers.
Ketones are naturally slightly acidic, so the combination of BHB with sodium acts as a bit of a buffer to this acidity. Ketones will also naturally act as a diuretic, so you lose salt, potassium calcium and magnesium, and it is generally encouraged to increase sodium intake with ketones. The addition of sodium to the product will replenish this salt loss.
As KE drinks achieved a significantly higher d-βHB concentrations than KS, we investigated factors that may be important in the use of ketone drinks to achieve nutritional ketosis. Initially we determined the repeatability of blood ketosis following KE drinks and found little variation in kinetic parameters between individuals. Variability between participants was less than within the population, and accurate individual prediction of the d-βHB Cmax following a body-weight adjusted KE drink was achieved. Variability within individuals was likely due to normal daily changes in GI function, including gastric emptying, portal blood flow or intestinal transit time, which may alter KE hydrolysis and absorption.

A recent study, Ketone Bodies Mimic the Life Span Extending Properties of Caloric Restriction, showed the effects of exogenous ketones on longevity (ketone esters, specifically) and concluded that ketones should be labeled as an “anti-aging” compound (suggesting that the real reason caloric restriction has been shown to extend life span is actually due to resulting ketosis).

Calories do matter, even on a ketogenic diet. If you consume more calories than your body uses, you’re going to gain weight. Period. What you mean to say is that it’s very difficult to eat your entire day’s worth of calories on a ketogenic diet because fats are so satiating. This distinction is important to keep in mind for those who generally have a voracious appetite (like me).
So if your high-fat diet includes a high amount of roasted seeds or roasted nuts, nut butters, heated oils such as heated coconut oil or heated extra virgin olive oil, barbecued meats or meats cooked at very high temperatures, then your triglyceride count is going to go up. You should have triglycerides that are less than 150mg/dL, and a triglyceride to HDL ratio that is no more than 4:1, and in most of the healthiest people I’ve worked with, triglycerides are under 100 and the triglyceride to HDL ratio is less than 2:1. If your ratio is whacked, your ketogenic diet isn’t doing you any favors.’

I am a little confused. I can see how EK’s can help up the state of ketosis, but as far is weight loss is concerned, aren’t the ketones you produce naturally created by the breaking down of your own fat? If I supplement with exogenous ketones, will that slow the natural creation of ketones? Especially if I am eating a higher amount of carbs. Would exogenous ketones speed fat loss, or slow it?

Exogenous ketones (also known as ketone supplements) and well-formulated ketogenic diets share at least one thing in common. They both result in increased circulating concentrations of beta-hydroxybutyrate (BOHB), but ultimately are associated with very different patterns of ketosis, as well as differing metabolic and physiologic outcomes. In short, they should not be assumed to have equivalent effects simply because they achieve similar BOHB blood levels. Having said that, there are many reasons we should continue to study the various forms and potential applications of ketone supplements.
The USDA guidelines recommend less than 2400 mg of sodium per day for healthy adults, and 1500 mg or less for individuals over the age of 50 or at risk for hypertension[2]. For reference, 2300 mg of sodium is the equivalent of about one teaspoon of salt. Even though these recommendations are promoted by the American Heart Associated and other health-related organizations, recent research has claimed that there is simply not enough evidence to support these guidelines[5]. Worldwide 24-hour urinary sodium excretion data suggest that the normal range is actually 2500-5000 mg per day, which is what most of us consume daily[6]. Additionally, people with high activity levels or chronically low blood pressure may require more sodium than the average person.
Personally, I think it is wise to include a regular carb meal in your diet if you are going to follow a ketogenic diet. Long term ketogenic diets do seem to downregulate your thyroid and metabolism, and a weekly carb meal (or carb day) can help avoid this. The Carb Nite diet by J. Kiefer is a good example of this. And BJJCaveman posted his labs showing how a weekly carb meal helped his thyroid HERE.

I’m getting an increasing number of questions about exogenous ketones. Are they good? Do they work for performance? Is there a dose-response curve? If I’m fasting, can I consume them without “breaking” the fast? Am I in ketosis if my liver isn’t producing ketones, but my BOHB is 1.5 mmol/L after ingesting ketones? Can they “ramp-up” ketogenesis? Are they a “smart drug?” What happens if someone has high levels of both glucose and ketones? Are some products better than others? Salts vs esters? BHB vs AcAc? Can taking exogenous ketones reduce endogenous production on a ketogenic diet? What’s the difference between racemic mixtures, D-form, and L-form? What’s your experience with MCTs and C8?

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